Congratulations! You made it! You survived and excelled in your student teaching. You are now a science teacher! If you would, take a few minutes to share your wisdom about how to negotiate this difficult year with the students who are following in your footsteps by answering the following questions.
a. What are some things students can do in their fall practicum to make their student teaching go more smoothly?
If I could go back and do it over again I would definitely pay more attention to detail during my fall practicum. I would address the ideas of which kids seem to have problems and what they are. I would have tried to figure out good ways to deal with kids like these early rather then while I'm teaching. Being well prepared helped quite a bit. I felt much more prepared for my middle school assignment then my high school and although both ended up being good experiences I feel like the middle school went much smoother. It took longer for me to feel comfortable in the high school class.
Make sure to pick your CT's brain early find out what they do and how they run the ship. The kids react much better if you don't change much because they are use to a routine.
Try and learn as many names as you can because the more you know early the easier it is. They react much better if you know their name.
Get all the class lists and scheduling and materials you need. Anticipate what you will need. I found that having a different folder for each period really helps with correcting. As soon as the period is over I grab whatever work they have passed in and stick in the folder. Once its corrected it comes right back out of the folder to them. This way no work gets lost in the shuffle and your pile of correcting doesn't get out of control.
b. What 430 topics/assignments should students make sure are addressed in detail to prepare them for student teaching?
UNIT PLAN!!!!!!! This assignment is sooooooo helpful because if you play it right you can use it in your class. I did my unit plan on what I was going to be teaching in the middle school and it made my life so much easier because I was never like "O man what am I moving on to next?!" Everything was laid out and planed it really took a lot of the stress off.
Learning goals - this topic is what runs RI schools. GSE's are extremely important and are going to be even more important next year because kids are being tested in science this year. Pay attention and learn as much as you can about them because believe me you will see them everywhere.
c. Help the next group of science education student teachers by completing the thought: "If I knew in September what I know now, I could have done a better job during student teaching if I had ...."
Been more prepared with classroom management. Be prepared to have to deal with students who aren't little angels because believe me your going to have a few. You have to be assertive and demand respect right away. I don't mean go in there yelling and be a dictator but don't try to be there friend because it doesn't work. Firm then friendly.
Most of the other teachers at schools want to help you, so just ask!
Your CT is there to help so learn everything you can from them!
There are definitely more things I have learned but to be honest I really can't think of them at this moment.
d. Are there other words of wisdom/encouragement that you want to share?
BE PREPARED EVERYDAY NO MATTER WHAT!!!! EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE SOMETHING THE KIDS STILL COME AND THE SHOW MUST GO ON.
a. What are some things students can do in their fall practicum to make their student teaching go more smoothly?
b. What 430 topics/assignments should students make sure are addressed in detail to prepare them for student teaching?
c. Help the next group of science education student teachers by completing the thought: "If I knew in September what I know now, I could have done a better job during student teaching if I had ...."
d. Are there other words of wisdom/encouragement that you want to share?